Aquarium Ich Treatment FAQ: Heat Salt and Meds
White salt-grain spots on a fish almost always mean Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, the parasite hobbyists call ich. The ich treatment faq below answers the questions Singapore aquarists send us most, from heat-and-salt timing to which species cannot tolerate the standard protocols. This ich treatment faq draws on twenty years of customer cases at Gensou Aquascaping in 5 Everton Park, where staff diagnose ich outbreaks weekly. Read it as a Q&A reference; this guide answers the eleven questions Singapore aquarists ask most about ich.
What Does Ich Look Like in the Earliest Stage?
Earliest ich looks like one or two grains of fine salt scattered on the pectoral fins or tail edges. Many keepers miss this phase because the parasite is feeding under the slime coat and only the small encysted trophonts are visible. Within 48-72 hours at 28°C the spots multiply across the flanks. Catching ich at the two-spot stage cuts treatment cost and mortality dramatically, so inspect new arrivals daily under a torch beam.
Will Heat Alone Cure Ich at 30°C?
Heat alone at 30°C accelerates the parasite life cycle but will not reliably cure modern strains. Many Singapore-imported ich populations now tolerate 32°C, and pushing higher stresses cardinal tetras and discus past their thermal limits. Use heat as an adjunct: hold 30°C for fourteen days alongside medication, never as a standalone. Run a strong air stone because warm water carries less oxygen and gasping is the fastest way to lose stock.
How Do I Dose Aquarium Salt for Ich?
Standard dosing is one tablespoon of non-iodised aquarium salt per four litres, predissolved in tank water before adding. API Aquarium Salt retails around $9-12 in Singapore and is the safest choice. Maintain the dose for fourteen days and only replace salt for what evaporated water removed, not for top-ups. Salt blocks parasite osmoregulation in the free-swimming theront stage but does nothing to encysted trophonts on the fish.
Can I Use Salt With Corydoras and Loaches?
No. Corydoras, kuhli loaches, clown loaches and other scaleless or thinly-scaled species suffer skin burns and gill damage at standard salt doses. Halve the concentration to half a tablespoon per four litres and watch for excessive mucus shedding. Better still, switch to a non-salt protocol like Seachem ParaGuard for these tanks. Treating in a quarantine bin without sensitive species is the cleanest workaround.
Is ICH-X Safe for Plants and Shrimp?
ICH-X is plant-safe at the labelled dose and one of the few ich treatments that will not stain silicone or kill anubias. Shrimp tolerance is mixed: cherry shrimp generally survive a half-dose protocol while crystal shrimp often crash. Reduce dose to fifty per cent for shrimp tanks and run extra aeration. Avoid combining ICH-X with copper-based meds — the interaction stresses gills hard.
How Long Does Treatment Take?
A full ich treatment runs fourteen days even if visible spots vanish by day five. The parasite cycles through trophont, tomont and theront stages, and only theronts are vulnerable to medication. Stopping early lets surviving tomonts release a fresh wave a week later. Keep dosing through day fourteen, then run carbon for forty-eight hours to strip residual medication before adding livestock back.
Do I Quarantine the Whole Tank or Move Sick Fish?
Treat the entire display because once one fish shows spots, free-swimming theronts have already seeded the substrate and filter media. Moving the visibly sick fish leaves the tank seeded and re-infects the next batch. The exception is reef tanks with corals, where fish move to a hospital tank because most ich meds nuke invertebrates.
Will Ich Spread to My Other Tanks?
Ich travels on wet nets, hands and siphon hoses. Use dedicated equipment per tank or dry tools 24 hours between tanks. Quarantine all new fish three weeks — the water care range stocks everything you need.
Why Did Ich Come Back After Treatment?
Returning ich usually means the protocol was cut short, the temperature dropped below the kill range during a power cut, or a new fish was added without quarantine. Singapore power outages during heavy storms can drop tanks by 3°C overnight, slowing the parasite cycle and stretching treatment beyond the dosing window. Resume the full fourteen-day protocol from day one and check thermometers weekly.
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